1. and returned to their former places under the bodhi tree in this world of Javbudvipa and the heaven of the 4 Kings and preached the Dharma of the “10 Oceans Of Worlds.” 2. Thereupon, they ascended to Lord Shaka’s palace and expounded the “10 Dwellings,” 3. Proceeded to the Suyama heaven and taught the “10 Practices,” 4. proceeded further to the 4th Heaven and taught the “10 Dedications,” 5. proceeded further to the transformation of bliss Heaven and taught the “10 Dhyana Samadhi,” 6. proceeded further to the Heaven of Comfort from Others’ Emanations and taught the “10 Grounds,” 7. proceeded further to the 1st Dhyana Heaven and taught the “10 Vajra Stages,” 8. proceeded further to the 2nd Dhyana Heaven and taught the “10 Practices,” 9. proceeded further to the 3rd Dhyana Heaven and taught the “10 Vows,” 10. finally in the 4th Dhyana Heaven, at Lord Brahma’s Palace, they taught the “Mind-Ground-Dharma Door” chapter,

which Vairocana to in eons past, expounded the Lotus treasury world (the cosmos).”

*

I have added the numbers to help clarify the order of presentations.

* Brahma Net Sutra - Moral Code of the Bodhisattvas, Sutra Translation Committee of the United States and Canada, 2000

There are very broadly speaking (and overgeneralizing!) two approaches to this question. You might call one the "pious" version: all three of these texts were recorded as they were uttered by the historical Buddha, and any similarities & repetitions among them reflect the eternal truth of the Buddha's discourse. The other his the historical version: two of these texts were compiled/composed in China and presented as Indian-sourced sutras, and the other one is really more of a library of collected teachings that were composed at various times and places, but all of them reflect the true teaching of the Dharma (Buddha-vaca), the intent of the Buddha if not the exact words of the historical Shakyamuni. By the latter approach, the similarities among them indicate a kind of mimesis: sections of the Surangama Sutra, for instance, are clearly "inspired" by similar passages in the Lotus Sutra.

The Surangama Sutra & the Brahma Net Sutra are Chinese compositions. The Avatamsaka Sutra is the library of teachings I alluded to before. All three are authoritative Dharma in my opinion and in the view of East Asian Buddhism generally (you'll find some dissenters on this). The Awakening of Faith is another important and influential text in this category, as is the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment. All of them are texts you can trust. In fact, our little sangha has been reading the SPE in recent weeks; we're moving on the Surangama Sutra next.

That said, there are some masters (significant and important ones) who insist that the Surangama Sutra, for instance, was definitely, directly, and literally spoken by the historical Buddha in India, and to suggest otherwise is to slander the teachings. I think this is a pious fiction, but I do not debate this issue. YMMV.

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Yes, it's terrific reading. Ven. Sheng Yen's group published a very readable translation, with the master's commentary, under the title Complete Enlightenment. It's very much worth a few slow reads. Muller's translation, published as The Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment, is just as valuable, but more expensive (I found it a bit more readable). It includes commentary by the great Korean master, Kihwa.

enjoy!

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